原肠胚形成后人类胚胎的时空转录组图谱，这一成果由浙江大学医学院黄荷凤院士团队经过不懈努力而取得。2026年5月27日出版的《自然》发表了这项成果。
利用Stereo-seq技术，研究小组在13个完整人类胚胎的77个矢状面切片上生成了空间转录组图谱，范围从卡内基12期到23期，结合单核RNA测序来阐明特定细胞背景下的基因表达模式，揭示了驱动器官特异性分化的细胞异质性。他们的研究已经建立了50个器官和198个亚结构发育的调控概况，并确定了潜在的组织身份调节因子。值得注意的是，它揭示了心脏和大脑发育中以前未被描述的基因功能。该图谱不仅充实和完善了目前对人类器官发育的理解，而且还突出了易受遗传疾病影响的关键器官。
此外，该团队还对不同发育阶段的特定器官中的等位基因表达进行了表征。这项工作为每个空间定义的细胞群体提供了全基因组基因表达谱的全面汇编，这可以可视化为胚胎转录景观的空间展示。这些结果为人类器官发生的时空转录组动力学数据提供了最全面的描述。
据介绍，人类早期胚胎发育过程中基因表达的全面时空图谱对于了解胚胎发生器官发生和疾病起源至关重要。
附：英文原文
Title: Spatiotemporal transcriptome atlas of human embryos after gastrulation
Author: Pan, Jiexue, Li, Yuejiao, Lin, Zhongliang, Lan, Qing, Zhang, Ying, Chen, Huixi, Sui, Shengwei, Zhai, Man, Zhang, Gaochen, Cheng, Yi, Tang, Yunhui, Wang, Qingchen, Xu, Yue, Li, Guoling, Xu, Chunyan, Yan, Haoqi, Mao, Yiting, Wang, Xingxia, Li, Hao, Zhu, Yiping, Chen, Qinfang, Guan, Yichun, Meng, Nan, Wang, Chang, Lu, Haiqian, Li, Xiangjuan, Zheng, Tingting, Yao, Xiaoying, Yang, Tingyu, Chen, Xuan, Qin, Qiuyu, Jiang, Bin, Ren, Yuxing, Liu, Xinmei, Zhang, Yuxin, Yu, Minghui, Wang, Lifang, Wei, Yanrong, Luo, Meiqi, Nancuo, Ji, Ma, Fuhe, Wang, Ziwei, Ou, Zhihua, Lei, Ying, Jin, Xin, Sheng, Jianzhong, Xu, Congjian, Wu, Yanting, Xu, Chenming, Zhao, Lijian, Yang, Hongbo, Gao, Ya, Ding, Guolian
Issue&Volume: 2026-05-27
Abstract: The comprehensive spatiotemporal atlas of gene expression during early human embryonic development is critical for insights into embryogenesis1, organogenesis2 and disease origins3,4. Here, leveraging Stereo-seq technology, we generated spatial transcriptomic profiles across 77 sagittal sections of 13 whole-human embryos ranging from Carnegie stage 12 to 23, integrated with single-nucleus RNA sequencing to elucidate gene expression patterns within defined cellular contexts, revealing the cellular heterogeneity that drives organ-specific differentiation. Our study has established a regulatory profile for the development of 50 organs and 198 substructures, and identified potential tissue-identity regulators. Of note, it uncovered previously uncharacterized gene functions in cardiac and brain development. The atlas not only substantiates and refines the current understanding of human organ development but also highlights key organs susceptible to genetic disorders. Furthermore, we characterized the allelic gene expression within specific organs at different developmental stages. This work presents a comprehensive compilation of genome-wide gene expression profiles for each spatially defined cell population, which can be visualized as a spatial display of the embryonic transcriptional landscape. These results offer the most thorough delineation to data of the spatiotemporal transcriptomic dynamics of human organogenesis.
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-026-10545-0